How To Clean When You Would Rather Be Outside (The Reboot Day 7)

Good morning sleepy heads, we’re going to clean your bedroom today!

It’s summer (nearly) and the last thing I want to do is stay inside on these beautiful days.

Not to mention the fact that my kids are ready to hit the dirt the minute they get up. How am I supposed to get any heavy cleaning done in the summer? And it’s not just finding the time, it’s finding the motivation. I want to be out and about on these inviting days, not stuck cleaning out my cabinets. I know many of you are feeling the same way.

So what are we to do?

Well, we first need to keep our “why” at the forefront, because that will help to keep us going. The second thing is that love doesn’t choose seasons, and so if we are going to love well by keeping a place of order and peace, we need to maintain that even in the summer (however, next go-round we’ll do the heavy cleaning before summer!). The third thing? We need to choose our own tasks. What I mean is, instead of telling you what to do, I’m going to let you choose your tasks for each section of the home we work on, but I’ll share mine just in case you want to use what I’m doing as a guide. This week, for example, we’re cleaning the other bedrooms in our homes. I asked you to pick five tasks you could reasonably do this week to get those bedrooms in order. For some of you, that will mean an entire overall and “spring” clean of all the kids rooms and/or guest bedrooms. For others, this might mean catching up on the laundry, putting clothes away, making the beds, and finding a new system to keep toys at bay. We’re all in different places, so our needs are going to be vastly different, as well as our capacities.

My capacity is pretty limited right now. My sister is coming in town on Wednesday (squee!) and she’s bringing her one year old (translation: “I walk now so watch out I’m going to get into everything. Bwhahahahahaha!) and her dog, a chihuahua. She’ll be here for two weeks, and so I’m going to give myself a break and work slowly through my cleaning tasks instead of spending hours a day on them.

Which reminds me, I’m going to have a live clean where you can clean along with me! I tried this the other day and it was really fun, until I realized that I had the broadcast locked AND I forgot to record it. Yea, I botched it. But this time, I know what I’m doing! Keep an eye on my FB page and I’ll let you know when the live cleaning will begin (probably this afternoon).

Okay, let’s get on with the day!

Mary Challenge: Be realistic with your limitations and set reasonable goals, especially if you have little ones. In fact, before you get on with cleaning today, sit down with your babes and play with them – a card game, dollies, read them a book, or whatever you know they would love to do with you. Give them your time first. If you don’t have babes, make sure to do something that brings peace to your soul before you get to work.

Martha Challenge: Tackle the second task on your list (assuming you did the first yesterday). I will be cleaning my daughters bedroom today and getting rid of clothes and toys we don’t need anymore. My girls will help me, and for each thing they do I will give them a ticket that will earn them treats and a movie at the end of the week (I’ll move on to my sons room tomorrow).

WOOT!

Click the above button to link-up your blog and see others who have joined the challenge!

How do you get cleaning done in the summer?

…

Would you like to my articles sent to your email or RSS?

Print this!